Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 23382 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 117(@200wpm)___ 94(@250wpm)___ 78(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23382 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 117(@200wpm)___ 94(@250wpm)___ 78(@300wpm)
I gather her into my arms, and her shoulders shake from the force of her despair. As my lady falls apart, hot drops of distress soaking my sleeve, I turn my attention to the man watching us with grief in his eyes. The rigid set of his jaw spells rage.
“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you,” I say, rubbing her back.
“I said no,” she sobs. “It wasn’t my fault.”
“Of course it wasn’t your fault.” I veer back and meet her eyes. “Do you hear me? It wasn’t your fault.”
Wiping her cheeks, she nods.
“Has he been punished?” I direct the question at Landon.
A tick goes off in his jaw. “He will be.”
“Why hasn’t he been arrested yet?”
“Elise didn’t tell anyone at first.” He hesitates. “Now there’s more to consider.”
“What is there to consider?” I try to temper my harsh tone but fail. “He sexually assaulted her and needs to be punished.”
“There’s no question of that.” He exchanges a glance with my lady, and she gives a resigned dip of her chin. “Elise has something else to tell you.” Landon leans forward, hands clasped between his knees, and I feel like we’re back in the library earlier today, in the moments before he dropped the truth bomb on me.
“There’s more?” I ask, looking to Elise for answers.
Another dip of her chin, then the whispered confession that changes everything. “I’m pregnant.”
In the quiet seconds that follow, the weight of her words settle over the three of us with stifling reality.
“Is that why Faye said you were ill?”
Elise nods. “Morning sickness.”
“Why did you leave the island?”
“I was going to abort, but…” She looks away in shame. “I couldn’t go through with it.”
I squeeze her hand. “You decided to keep it?”
“Yes.”
“You have my full support.”
“Thank you.”
“I still don’t understand why Jerome isn’t in jail.”
“No one can know about the assault,” Landon speaks up.
I gape at him. “Why not? He can’t get away with this!”
“Trust me, my queen. By the time I’m through with him, he’ll wish he were in jail.”
“So why the secrecy?”
“If Jerome learns of the pregnancy, he could demand to marry her.”
“So she’ll say no, and this time he’ll have no choice but to listen.”
“You know better than most how the men on this island honor the word no.” Frustration hardens Landon’s tone. “Jerome is a powerful man with strong ties to our government. Now that she’s carrying his child, he has a legal right to claim her as his wife.”
“Then do something about it! Elise can’t marry that monster.”
A lengthy beat passes as we stare each other down. “I am doing something, Novalee. That’s why I’m going to marry her myself.”
His announcement renders me speechless as I glance between the two of them.
“It’s the best way to protect her,” he says. “As a member of the Brotherhood, no one will dare contest me when I say the child is mine.”
I turn to my lady. “This is what you want?”
Cheeks flushing, she sends Landon a furtive look. “Yes.”
“I don’t know what to say.” I’m grateful to him for looking after Elise, especially since Mr. Bordeaux forbade me from being there for her myself, but my experiences so far have taught me to use extreme caution when trusting the men in this tower.
“We’d like your blessing.” The tender look he gives Elise says more than words alone.
“Then you have it.”
Landon nods. “Good. We’ll also need your support when we announce our engagement to the Brotherhood.”
“Of course. Whatever you need.”
“Then it’s set. Tomorrow night, I’ll announce during dinner.” Landon rises, his attention on my lady. “But first, the queen and I need to talk to someone.”
Chapter Four
Excited flutters warm my belly as Landon ushers me out of the elevator two floors below the House of Gemini, because I suspect who lives here.
Landon halts in front of the main entrance—the same style of double doors I’ve seen on the other floors I’ve visited. He rings the doorbell, and a whole minute passes before Sebastian stand on the threshold, bare-chested and wearing his signature ripped jeans that are so low slung they’re almost indecent. The only difference this time is the paint spattering the stonewashed denim.
The displeased curve of his mouth is all too familiar. “What do you want?” Sebastian directs the accusatory question at Landon, though his gaze is on me.
“We need to talk,” Landon says, pushing past Sebastian and pulling me behind him. He navigates the lion’s lair with ease, as if he’s been here a thousand times and the place is as familiar as his own. We come to a stop in a spacious great room that’s more art studio than living space. Paintings ranging from abstract to portraits line the walls, shelves hold jars of various-sized brushes and stacked canvases, and a black sheet covers what I assume is his latest work-in-progress. The thing is gigantic, propped upright in front of the wall of windows. It seems Sebastian cares more about his artistic obsession than the incredible ocean view.